Japan, Inc.
Great story by Scott Tong writing about Japan, and their economy are faring one year to the date of the horrific earthquake and tsunami, and the subsequent TEPCO/Fukashima nuclear disaster that killed nearly 16,000 people.
Describes how companies, even renowned ones like Sharp, are struggling to bounce back, a victim not just of the disasters, but of tunnel-vision. The Amazon-like site, Rakuten, has tried to envision a more global business outlook, beyond the walls of a local, regional, a/o national business outlook. The CEO of Rakuten was a bond trader when An earthquake hit his hometown in Kobe, Hapan years ago, propelling him into a time of soul-searching. He’s hoping that some people, like him will do what he did after the disaster and soul-searching: become entrepenuers.

The Rock
Funny piece brought to Marketplace from KPCC, in Pasadena, about the story of the new aet exhibit/installation traveling in L.A. known as, The Rock. The L.A. County Museum of Art is paying, and owns The Rock, worth an estimated $10 million big ones. The Rock was created by artist Michael Heiser.

World not Ending
Harold Camping, “we humbly acknowledge we were wrong about the timing,” referring the May 21, 2011, presage that the world would be ending.